OBJECTIVES: To improve present methods of preserving the functions of the larynx, pharynx and oral cavity when these organs must be treated for cancer. APPROACH: Each surgical specimen removed for cancer of the larynx or hypopharynx, whether partial or total laryngectomy, if fixed in formalin, decalcified in nitric acid, dehydrated, and then processed through celloidin for whole-organ study by sections at 20 microns. Every 25th section is stained and mounted. The remaining sections are kept in serial order for later evaluation.